Ryan Pfeiffer Out as 16” on Center Culinary Director

As of last week Ryan Pfeiffer is no longer culinary director of 16” on Center, operator of Dusek’s, Longman & Eagle, etc… I reached out to multiple members of 16” on Center team as well as Pfeiffer himself for details and comment.

16” on Center partner Bruce Finkelman responded:

“Ryan’s first job with us was to reinvigorate Dusek’s, which he did wonderfully.  The plan, which he executed perfectly was to pass the baton to Geoff (executive chef) Thompson to continue building on the program they built together.  They still collaborate, but the program is firmly in Geoff’s loving hands.  As you can attest from your visit, I do believe Geoff deserves all the accolades he can get - he is a very talented fellow.”

I did ask specifically when this happened, why it happened, and what their plan for the future of the role was. There was no comment on those questions or yet a response from Pfeiffer. I will update this if those roll in.

Normally I don’t break news here at The Hunger, but as you know I just wrote a review of Dusek’s, the first project that Pfeiffer was hired to overhaul.

Realistically, much probably won’t change since 16” on Center has always delivered great product no matter who’s been in charge. They will likely have their choice of culinary directors if they choose to re-fill that role.

Dusek’s chef Geoff Thompson is super capable and as he told me last week “Pre fixe is 70% Geoff, 30% Ryan. Tavern is 75% collaboration between Ryan and I, 25% specifically his.”

Because my review was in the context of Pfeiffer’s recent overhaul, I’d like my readers to know that the conditions I experienced during my meal may not apply to them if they visit in the future.

Although, this is always the case, which is to say a critical view is one opinion about a moment in time, something we should always remember. I try my best to get it right, but what I get right may not always apply in the future. 

That all being said the restaurant group knew I was writing this review and that Pfeiffer was out and didn’t volunteer this information when I did a few fact checks. I didn’t ask specifically, but I didn’t think to since it had only been a couple of months since Pfeiffer’s appointment.

I understand the motivation to keep these things quiet. It’s almost a standard practice grounded in an expectation that the public won’t know or care.

Now, we don’t know why the split occurred, maybe it’s a sensitive HR topic or maybe it’s just a differing of philosophies, and the messaging takes time. During that period, people get scared of transparency and the truth, especially in the hospitality industry. The thinking is well we got a good review because we brought this chef in and if they’re not here, people will think it is no longer good. 

My view is that if that person delivered value in the culture, as Finkelman says above, then that will remain and you should be transparent with your patrons as soon as possible and send that message of reassurance instead of waiting until people hear about it after the fact.

If people go and the quality has dropped, this hurts the reputation of the group and the chef who is no longer there. If they go and the quality is good, but they find out after the fact it was a different person who did the good work, it’s not fair to the team that’s doing the real work on the ground.

I trust 16” on Center. It’s not an indictment of them. It’s more an observation of the standard comms practices of the industry that should be examined.

Also, if you like breaking news, maybe I’ll look to publish more. Let me know you like it with a paid subscription! If you don’t, that’s fine too as my focus is always going to be on finding art in the restaurant world above all.